Simulate a Condenser

Simulate a Condenser

1999 AEA Technology plc - All Rights Reserved

ACOL 2_1.pdf

Workshop

Workshop
The purpose of this module is to simulate a condenser to determine the
tubeside outlet temperature for a forced-draught air-cooled heat
exchanger that is operating at an altitude of 330 feet.
On the tubeside, we are condensing 360,000 lb/hr of vapour. The
vapour enters at 155 oF and the liquid leaves at approximately 122 oF.
Both the vapour and the liquid are assumed to be saturated; that means
that no desuperheating or subcooling is accounted for. The exchanger
modeled here is a 4-bay unit with 2 bundles per bay. The tube bundle
contains 6 rows and has 3 tubeside passes. In total, 408 tubes are used
at a lenth of 354 inches.
We will use ACOL to find the tube outlet temperature after we input the
required geometrical and process data, ACOL is able to calculate an
accurate prediction of tube side pressure drop and outlet temperature.

Learning Objectives
Once you have completed this section you will be able to:

Enter physical properties using the property table.

Enter Row and Pass data on the Bundle Specifications tab.
Enter Property Data for a two-phase stream.

Workshop

Building the Simulation

Click on New to create a new project file. Notice that the previous
workshop is listed as a recently used project file.

1.

In the Simulation Option field, use the drop down list to select
Tubeside Outlet Temperature.

2.

Click OK to proceed.

Workshop

3.

The Bundle Geometry screen appears. But before any

information is entered, you need to specify which units ACOL
should use. For this workshop, we will use British units. Click on
Units (at the bottom left corner) and the following screen
appears. Change all the units to British/US.

4.

Click OK and you return to the Bundle Geometry screen shown

previously.

5.

Enter the nozzle information as shown below.

Workshop

6.

Click Next to proceed to Bundle Specification. Enter the details of

the number of tubes and passes for the bundle as shown:

7.

When you click on Apply, you may notice a screen appear behind
Bundle Geometry; this is the Pass Layout screen.

In the previous module, you had to modify the Pass information. In this
module, the Pass information was defined on the Bundle Specification
tab. When there are many tubes and rows in a bundle, it is more
convenient to let ACOL design the bundle.
8.

Click OK and close the Pass Layout window.

Workshop

9.

Click on the Tube Details tab. Enter the remaining geometric data
and the process conditions for the tubeside (ensure that your
units are British).

10.

Click Apply. Since we do not need to enter any information on the

Material Properties window, click on the Next button twice. The
Extended Surfaces window appears. Enter the following values.

11.

Click Apply and then click Next.

Workshop

12.

At the ACHE Geometry window, enter the Number of Bays per

Unit, Number of Bundles per Bay, and the Number of Fans per
Bay. The other values are default and may be left as such.

13.

Click Apply. Click Next. We do not need to enter any Fan Details
so click Next again.

14.

We can now enter the process data for the Tubeside stream and
the X-side stream as shown below.

15.

Click Apply. Click on the Tubeside Fouling tab.

Workshop

16.

For the tubeside fouling, enter the Fouling Resistance as 0.00156

h ft2 oF/Btu.

17.

Click Apply and proceed to the Air Stream Conditions. Enter the
Inlet Dry Bulb Design Temperature as 91.4oF.

18.

Click Apply.

19.

After Process Data is Distribution Data and Options. Since we do

not need to enter any information for these, we can quickly skip
ahead by using Input on the main menu. Open the Input menu
and select Physical Property Data.

Workshop

20.

Enter the physical property data on the Tubeside stream and click
Apply.

21.

Click on the Property Table button. Click on the Heat Load radio
button and add the Flowrate at the bottom. Ensure that the
Density radio button is also selected. Enter the table values.

22.

Click OK. The Hydrocarbon window closes and you return to the
Properties window. Click Apply.

10

Workshop

Now that all the data has been entered, we can run the program. Just to
make sure that we clicked Apply on all the windows, close any windows
by clicking Apply or OK. Once all the windows are closed, save your
case.

Save your case!

Running the File
Run this file by clicking on the Run button on the main toolbar, or open
the Run menu and select Calculate All. As ACOL prepares the file, it
displays its progress in the following window.

Run button

The Status window should indicate ACOL successfully complete. If

there are any errors, an error message box will help you solve them.

10

Workshop

11

If there are any errors, you have to solve them, save the file, and then rerun. The following Summary window should appear.

11

12

Workshop

12